The show was a big hit and Hal was in a terminal state of happiness! It was my honor to host Hal all weekend and I must admit that he was very easy to please. John Hill got a little over-worked running his Johnny Reb III games but he wouldn't have it ay other way. The show staff did their best to make sure he wasn't strapped to the table or to any one game. Bob Jones is a true gentleman and it was my pleasure to finally meet him. What can I say? I had a great time and the guests had a great time. The PEL only showed about half the games that really ran so there were over 100 games run at the show. Attendance ran in the vicinity of 250 folks but the room was full at all times. All in all, a great show with great people! This is what the hobby is all about. We didn't have to win the games we played in; our victory was in getting together and simply being able to play... South is really going to have to look into expanding the facilities a little bit. If you are a dealer and you want some tables at Hurncon, South's next show (25-27 Sep), then you better get them early. There is no way I see for the nurnber of dealer tables to increase because the space for gaming is needed. For the next show, South may be able to get a couple extra rooms for overflow and for tourney play. The standard is maintained far the highest quality shows! Expect nothing less from HMGS South Here first and hot off the presses - Recon 99, 19-21 March 1999. Let me take a couple of moments to mention some folks I met whom I now consider good friends. Starting with Bob Jones and Hal Thinglu, I am hone ored. These two gentlemen are so well known throughout the hobby and have a history of teaching history through miniatures. I hope that I can carry on their tradition through the Gauotiet and Gauntlet Publications. John Hill and Pat Condray are also both elder statesman whose knowledge of history I have only scratched the surface of. I'm glad I put The London War Room next to Regimental Colours. I had plenty of opportunities to talk with Vince and Sharron Clyant. He is an English gentleman and she is a southan belle. They make a very classy pair and I am proud to count tham as my friends. I will probably end up taking out a monthly allotment to the London War Room for Vince to build me a number of custom pieces. His work is superb and is done at what I consider Bargain Basement prices for the superior quality. At right, Spanish Bourbons head off to battle near a rocky pass crafted by Clyant. Another fine gentleman is Rudy Scott Nelson from Time Portal Hobbies. I wish I had more time to spend talking to him about rules sets he has written and some of his future projects (which include having Martelle (Gauntlet) Publications republish a couple rules sets and some of his other historical research works). It was very nice to see Tim McGraw from Flight of the Phoenix in Savannah Georgia and his crew again. He is a great guy to talk with and work with. Mark Hershberger (352-622-4943) from Ocala, Florida is an incredible airbrush artist and did some phenomenal works for a couple 40K guys. Dave and Jennifer Samol brought out Warchests. Dave's enthusiasm is contagious and he invigorated all he met. He custom builds chests for wargamers. These things were very, very nice. Completely functional, made of wood, brass, and steel. Nothing short of a direct nuclear hit would affect figures protected there in. Give them a call if you want only the best for your armies (813-861-7650). For everyone else at the show, don't feel slighted at not getting mentioned, my memory is short and I don't want to bore the readers with a long list of great people! I'd like to thank Nick, Liz, Christie, and Alex Zizo for their help in running the show. They completely ran the front desk and ensured that the check-in process ran as smoothly as possible. They accounted for all money and kept an exact count of gamers at all times. Chuck Holabird kept all the game tables in order and kept the games -- when and where they were supposed to go. Chuck Kennedy and Mike DiRaffaele set up and ran the flea market. I'd also like to thank Mike for his flawless execution of the security plan for the convention areas. Jeff Lista was able to obtain a number of sponsors for HMGS South's Recon: Old Glory, Wargemes Inc., Brookhurst Hobbies, Wargame Accessories, Flight of the Phoenix, Johnny Reb Wargarnes Company, Regimental Colours, and Martelle Publications. Finally, a special thanks to the gamemasters who excelled at running the fine games that we were able to enjoy over the weekend. ARMATI Tournament Winners: Alan Sheridan Jeff Mattes Chuck Holabird Painting Competition Winners: Best of Show Painting: Hugh Downing's Samurai Warrior Best Historical - Under 25mm Figure: Pete Walton's T-80 Tank Best Historical - 25mm or Larger Figure: Hugh Downing's Samurai Warrior Best Historical Unit: Hugh Downing's Seleucids Best Alternative Individual Figure: Danny Gann's Sland Priest Best Alternative Unit: Danny Gann's Undead Army Best Alternative Vehicle or Beast: Kevin Kelly's wagon with little gremlin-looking guys hanging off it (if I get too technical, stop me)! BEST OF SHOW GAME: Bill Bass and Greg Yevtitch's Battle of Ptitch River, Microarrnor with Command Decision rules. The Painting Competition and Best of Show Game were sponsored by Brookhurst Hobbies, Martelle Publications, Flight of the Phoenix, and Wargame Accessories. Thanks to those who donated prizes. It really makes for a great show! This year's painting competition had quadruple the entries of Hurricon. I didn,t even get a picture of the loaded down painting competition table. I'm sorry, but if you want to see the stuff in the painting competition, you're just going to have to make the next show! Back to Rebel Yell No. 10 Table of Contents Back to Rebel Yell List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by HMGS South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com